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LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS

POPE JOHN PAUL II


TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS
NEGOTIATION
THE ONLY REALISTIC SOLUTION TO THE CONTINUING THREAT OF WAR
JUNE 11, 1982
On June 11, 1982, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, Vatican Secretary of State,
attended the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City and read th
e following message that the Holy Father sent to the Second Special Session of t
he United Nations dedicated to disarmament.
Mr. President,
Ladies and gentlemen: representatives of Member States,
1. In June 1978, my Predecessor Pope Paul VI sent a personal message to th
e First Special Session of the United Nations devoted to Disarmament, in which h
e expressed his hopes that such an effort of good will and political wisdom by t
he international community would bring the result that humanity was looking for.
Four years later you are gathered here again to ask yourselves if those in
itiatives have been-at least partially-realized.
The answer to that question seems neither very reassuring nor very encoura
ging. If one compares the situation in the area of disarmament four years ago wi
th that of today, there seems to be very little improvement. Some, in fact, thin
k that there has been a deterioration at least in the sense that hopes born of t
hat period could now be labeled as simple illusions. Such a stance could very ea
sily lend itself to discouragement and impel those who are responsible to seek e
lsewhere for the solution to these problems-general or particular-which continue
to disturb the lives of people.
That is, in fact, how many see the current situation. Figures from various
sources all point to a serious increase in military expenditures represented by
a greater production of different kinds of weapons along with which, according
to specialized institutes, there is a New rise in the sale of weapons. Recently
the news media has given a great deal of attention to research and use on a wide
r scale of chemical weapons. Moreover new kinds of nuclear weapons have also com
e into existence.
Before an assembly as competent as this one, there is no need to repeat th
e figures which your own organization has published on this subject. It is suffi
cient, as an indication, to refer to the study according to which the sum total
of military expenditures on the planet corresponds to a mean of $100 per person
per year, a figure which for many people who live on this earth is all they woul
d have annually to survive.
Faced with these facts, I willingly want to express my satisfaction that t
he United Nations Organization has proposed to confront the problem of disarmame
nt once again, and I am grateful for the courtesy so graciously extended to me t
o address some words to you on this occasion.
While it is not a member of your organization, for some time the Holy See
has had a Permanent Mission of Observer, a post which allows it to follow your d
aily activities. No one is unaware of how much my Predecessors valued your work.
I myself, especially at the time of my visit to the headquarters of the United
Nations, have had the opportunity of making my own their words of appreciation f
or your organization. Like them I understand the difficulties. And while I am ev
er hopeful that your efforts be crowned with even more important and better resu
lts, I recognize its precious and irreplaceable role in helping ensure a more tr
anquil and peaceful future for the world.
This is the voice of one who has no interests nor political power, nor eve
n less military force. It is a voice which is heard here again in this hall than
ks to your courtesy. Here where practically all the nations, great and small, of

the world come together, my words are meant to be the echo of the moral conscie
nce of humanity "in the pure sense," if you will grant me that expression. My wo
rds bear with them no special interests or concerns of a nature which could mar
their witness value and make them less credible.
A conscience illumined and guided by Christian faith, without doubt, but w
hich is by that fact nonetheless profoundly human. It is therefore a conscience
which is shared by all men and women of sincerity and good will.
My voice is the echo of the concerns and aspirations, the hopes and the fe
ars of millions of men and women who, from every walk of life, are looking towar
d this Assembly asking, as they hope, if there will come forth some reassuring l
ight or if there will be a new and more worrisome disappointment. Without claimi
ng a mandate from all these people, I believe I can make myself the faithful int
erpreter to you of the feelings which are theirs.
I neither wish nor am I able to enter into the technical and political asp
ects of the problem of disarmament as they stand before you today. However, I wo
uld like to call your attention to some ethical principles which are at the hear
t of every discussion and every decision that might be looked for in this field.
2. My point of departure is rooted in a statement unanimously agreed upon
not only by your citizens but also by the governments that you lead or you repre
sent: the world wants peace; the world needs peace.
In our modern world to refuse peace means not only to provoke the sufferin
gs and the loss that-today more than ever-war, even a limited one, implies: it c
ould also involve the total destruction of entire regions, not to mention the th
reat of possible or probable catastrophes in ever vaster and possibly even unive
rsal proportions.
Those who are responsible for the life of peoples seem above all to be eng
aged in a frantic search for political means and technical solutions which would
allow the results of eventual conflicts "to be contained." While having to reco
gnize the limits of their efforts in this direction, they persist in believing t
hat in the long run war is inevitable. Above all this is found in the specter of
a possible military confrontation between the two major camps which divide the
world today and continues to haunt the future of humanity.
Certainly no power, and no statesman, would be of a mind to admit to plann
ing war or to wanting to take such an initiative. Mutual distrust, however, make
s us believe or fear that because others might nourish designs or desires of thi
s type, each, especially among the great powers, seems to envisage no other poss
ible solution than through necessity to prepare sufficiently strong defense to b
e able to respond to an eventual attack.
3. Many even think that such preparations constitute the way-even the only
way-to safeguard peace in some fashion or at least to impede to the utmost in a
n efficacious way the outbreak of wars, especially major conflicts which might l
ead to the ultimate holocaust of humanity and the destruction of the civilizatio
n that man has constructed so laboriously over the centuries.
In this approach one can see the "philosophy of peace" which was proclaime
d in the ancient Roman principle: Si vis pacem, para bellum. Put in modern terms
, this "philosophy" has the label of "deterrence," and one can find it in variou
s guises of the search for a "balance of forces" which sometimes has been called
, and not without reason, the "balance of terror."
As my Predecessor Paul VI put it: "The logic underlying the request for th
e balances of power impels each of the adversaries to seek to ensure a certain m
argin of superiority, for fear of being left at a disadvantage" (Message to the
United Nations General Assembly, May 24, 1978: The Teachings of Pope Paul VI, vo
l. 11, 1978, p. 202).
Thus in practice the temptation is easy-and the danger always present-to s
ee the search for balance turned into a search for superiority of a type that se
ts off the arms race in an even more dangerous way.
In reality this is the tendency which seems to continue to be prevalent to
day perhaps in an even more accentuated fashion than in the past. You have taken
as your specific purpose in this Assembly to search how it could be possible to
reverse this trend.

This purpose could seem to be in a sense "minimalist," but it is of vital


importance. For only a real renewal can raise the hope that humanity will commit
itself on the road that leads to the goal that everyone so much desires, even i
f many still consider it a utopia: total disarmament, which is mutual and surrou
nded by such guarantees of effective controls that it gives to everyone confiden
ce and necessary security.
In addition this special session surely reflects another truth: like peace
, the world wants disarmament; the world needs disarmament.
Moreover, all the work which has gone on in the Committee for Disarmament,
in the various commissions and sub-commissions and within governments, as well
as the attention of the public, all give witness to the importance that is being
placed today on the difficult question of disarmament.
The actual convocation of this meeting indicates a judgment: the nations o
f the world are already overarmed and are overcommitted to policies that continu
e that trend. Implicit in this judgment is the conviction that this is wrong and
that the nations so involved in these actions need to re-think their positions.
However, the situation is a complex one where a number of values- some of
the highest order-come to play. It is one where there are divergent viewpoints t
hat can be expressed. We must therefore face up to these problems with realism a
nd honesty.
That is why, before all else, I pray to God that He might grant you the st
rength of spirit and good will that will be needed for you to complete your task
and further the great cause of peace, which is the ultimate goal of all your ef
forts at this special session.
That is why my every word is intended to be a word of encouragement and of
hope: encouragement that you may not let your energies weaken at the complexiti
es of the questions or at the failures of the past and unfortunately the present
; hope because we know that only people who build in hope can have the vision ne
cessary to progress patiently and tenaciously towards goals that are worthy of t
he best efforts and the common good of all.
4. Perhaps no other question of our day touches so many aspects of the hum
an condition as that of armaments and disarmament. There are questions on the sc
ientific and technical level; there are social and economic questions. There are
deep problems of a political nature that touch the relations between states and
among peoples.
Our world-wide arms systems impinge in great measure on cultural developme
nts. But at the heart of them all there are present spiritual questions which co
ncern the very identity of man, and his choices for the future and for generatio
ns yet to come. Sharing my thoughts with you, I am conscious of all the technica
l, scientific, social, economic, political aspects, but especially of the ethica
l, cultural and spiritual ones.
5. Since the end of the Second World War and the beginning of the "atomic
age," the attitude of the Holy See and the Catholic Church has been clear. The C
hurch has continually sought to contribute to peace and to build a world that wo
uld not have recourse to war to solve disputes. It has encouraged the maintenanc
e of an international climate of mutual trust and cooperation. It has supported
those structures which would help ensure peace. It has called attention to the d
isastrous effects of war. With the growth of new and more lethal means of destru
ction, it has pointed to the dangers involved and, going beyond the immediate pe
rils, it has indicated what values to develop in order to foster cooperation, mu
tual trust, fraternity and peace.
My Predecessor, Pius XII, as early as 1946, referred to "the might of new
instruments of destruction" which "brought the problems of disarmament into the
center of international discussions under completely new aspects" (Address to th
e College of Cardinals, December 24, 1946).
Each successive Pope and the Second Vatican Council continued to express t
heir convictions, introducing them into the changing and developing situation of
armaments and arms control. If men would bend to the task with good will and wi
th the goal of peace in their hearts and in their plans, then adequate measures
could be found, appropriate structures erected to ensure the legitimate security

of every people in mutual respect and peace; thus the need for these grand arse
nals of fear and the threat of death would become superfluous.
The teaching of the Catholic Church in this area has been clear and consis
tent. It has deplored the arms race, called nonetheless for mutual progressive a
nd verifiable reduction of armaments as well as greater safeguards against possi
ble misuse of these weapons. It has done so while urging that the independence,
freedom and legitimate security of each and every nation be respected.
I wish to reassure you that the constant concern and consistent efforts of
the Catholic Church will not cease until there is a general verifiable disarmam
ent, until the hearts of all are won over to those ethical choices which will gu
arantee a lasting peace.
6. In turning to the current debate that concerns you, and to the subject
at hand, we must recognize that no element in international affairs stands alone
and isolated from the many-faceted interests of nations. However, it is one thi
ng to recognize the interdependence of questions; it is another to exploit them
in order to gain advantage in another. Armaments, nuclear weapons and disarmamen
t are too important in themselves and for the world ever to be made part of a st
rategy which would exploit their intrinsic importance in favor of politics or ot
her interests.
7. Therefore, it is important and right that every serious proposal that w
ould contribute to real disarmament and that would create a better climate be gi
ven the prudent and objective consideration it deserves. Even small steps can ha
ve a value which would go beyond their material or technical aspects. Whatever t
he area under consideration, we need today freshness of perspective and a capaci
ty to listen respectfully and carefully to the honest suggestions of every respo
nsible party in this matter.
In this context there is what I would call the phenomenon of rhetoric. In
an area already tense and fraught with unavoidable dangers, there is no place fo
r exaggerated speech or threatening stances. Indulgence in rhetoric, in inflamed
and impassioned vocabulary, in veiled threat and scare tactics can only exacerb
ate a problem that needs sober and diligent examination.
On the other hand, governments and their leaders cannot carry on the affai
rs of state independent of the wishes of their peoples. The history of civilizat
ion gives us stark examples of what happens when that is tried. Currently the fe
ar and preoccupation of so many groups in various parts of the world reveal that
people are more and more frightened about what would happen if irresponsible pa
rties unleash some nuclear war.
In fact, just about everywhere peace movements have been developing. In se
veral countries, these movements, which have become very popular, are being supp
orted by an increasing sector of the citizenry from various social levels, diffe
rent age groups and backgrounds, but especially by youth. The ideological bases
of these movements are multiple. Their projects, proposals and policies vary gre
atly and can often lend themselves to political exploitation. However, all these
differences of form and shape manifest a profound and sincere desire for peace
.
May I also join myself to the spirit of your draft appeal to public opinio
n for the birth of a truly universal consciousness of the terrible risks of war.
May that consciousness in its turn lead to a general spirit of peace.
8. In current conditions "deterrence" based on balance, certainly not as a
n end in itself but as a step on the way toward a progressive disarmament, may s
till be judged morally acceptable. Nonetheless in order to ensure peace, it is i
ndispensable not to be satisfied with this minimum which is always susceptible t
o the real danger of explosion.
What then can be done? In the absence of a supranational authority of the
type Pope John XXIII sought in his Encyclical Pacem in terris, one which one wou
ld have hoped to find in the United Nations Organization, the only realistic res
ponse to the threat of war still is negotiation. Here I would like to remind you
of an expression of Saint Augustine which I have already cited in another conte
xt: "Destroy war by the words of negotiations, but do not destroy men by the swo
rd." Today once again, before you all, I reaffirm my confidence in the power of

true negotiations to arrive at just and equitable solutions. Such negotiations d


emand patience and diligence and most notably lead to a reduction of armaments t
hat is balanced, simultaneous and internationally controlled.
To be even more precise: the development of armaments seems to lead to the
increasing interdependence of kinds of armaments. In these conditions, how can
one countenance a balanced reduction if negotiations do not include the whole ga
mut of arms? To that end the continuation of the study of the "Complete Program
of Disarmament" that your organization has already undertaken, could facilitate
the needed coordination of different forums and bring to their results greater t
ruth, equity and efficacy.
9. In fact, nuclear weapons are not the only means of war and destruction
. The production and sale of conventional weapons throughout the world is a trul
y alarming and evidently growing phenomenon. No negotiations about armaments wou
ld be complete if they were to ignore the fact that 80 percent of the expenditur
es for weapons are devoted to conventional arms. Moreover, the traffic in these
weapons seems to be developing at an increasing rate and seems to be directed mo
st of all toward developing countries. Every step taken to limit this production
and traffic and to bring them under an ever more effective control will be an i
mportant contribution to the cause of peace.
Recent events have sadly confirmed the destructive capacities of conventio
nal weapons and the sad plight of nations tempted to use them to solve disputes.
10. To focus, however, on the quantitative aspects of armaments, nuclear a
nd conventional, is not enough. A very special attention must be paid to the qua
litative improvement of these arms because of new and more advanced technologies
. Here one confronts one of the essential elements in the arms race. To overlook
this would be to fool ourselves and to deal dishonestly with those who desire p
eace.
Research and technology must always be at the service of man. In our day,
the use and misuse of science and technology for other purposes is a too well-kn
own fact. In my address to UNESCO on June 2, 1980, I spoke extensively with men
of culture and science on this subject. May I be allowed today at least to sugge
st that a significant percentage of the research that is currently being expende
d in the field of arms technology and science be directed towards life and the w
elfare of man.
11. In his address to the United Nations Organization on October 4, 1965,
Pope Paul VI stated a profound truth when he said: "Peace, as you know, is not b
uilt up only by means of politics or the balance of forces and interests. It is
constructed with the mind, with ideas, with works of peace." The products of the
mind-ideas-the products of culture, and the creative forces of peoples are mean
t to be shared. Strategies of peace which remain on the scientific and technical
level and which merely measure out balances and verify controls will never be s
ufficient for real peace unless bonds that link peoples to one another are forge
d and strengthened. Build up the links that unite people together. Build up the
means that will enable peoples and nations to share their culture and values wit
h one another. Put aside all the narrow interests that leave one nation at the m
ercy of another economically, socially or politically.
In this same vein, the work of many qualified experts plumbing the relatio
nship between disarmament and development is to be commended for study and actio
n. The prospect of diverting material and resources from the development of arms
to the development of peoples is not a new one. Nonetheless, it is a pressing a
nd compelling one which the Catholic Church has for a long time endorsed. Any ne
w dynamism in that direction coming from this Assembly would be met with the app
robation and support of men and women of good will everywhere.
The building of links among peoples means the rediscovery and reassertion
of all the values that reinforce peace and that join people together in harmony.
This also means the renewal of what is best in the heart of man, the heart that
seeks the good of the other in friendship and love.
12. May I close with one last consideration. The production and the posses
sion of armaments are a consequence of an ethical crisis that is disrupting soci
ety in all its political, social and economic dimensions. Peace, as I have alrea

dy said several times, is the result of respect for ethical principles. True dis
armament, that which will actually guarantee peace among peoples, will come abou
t only with the resolution of this ethical crisis. To the extent that the effort
s at arms reduction and then of total disarmament are not matched by parallel et
hical renewal, they are doomed in advance to failure.
The attempt must be made to put our world aright and to eliminate the spir
itual confusion born from a narrow-minded search for interest or privilege or by
the defense of ideological claims: this is a task of first priority if we wish
to measure any progress in the struggle for disarmament. Otherwise we are conde
mned to remain at face-saving activities.
For the root cause of our insecurity can be found in this profound crisis
of humanity. By means of creating consciences sensitive to the absurdity of war,
we advance the value of creating the material and spiritual conditions which wi
ll lessen the glaring inequalities and which will restore to everyone that minim
um of space that is needed for the freedom of the spirit.
The great disparity between the rich and the poor living together on this
one planet is no longer supportable in a world of rapid universal communications
, without giving birth to a justified resentment that can turn to violence. More
over the spirit has basic and inalienable rights. For it is with justice that th
ese rights are demanded in countries where the space is denied them to live in t
ranquillity according to their own convictions. I invite all those struggling fo
r peace to commit themselves to the effort to eliminate the true causes of the i
nsecurity of man of which the terrible arms race is only one effect.
13. To reverse the current trend in the arms race involves, therefore, a p
arallel struggle on two fronts: on the one side, an immediate and urgent struggl
e by governments to reduce progressively and equally their armaments; on the oth
er hand, a more patient but nonetheless necessary struggle at the level of the c
onsciences of peoples to take their responsibility in regard to the ethical caus
e of the insecurity that breeds violence by coming to grips with the material an
d spiritual inequalities of our world.
With no prejudice of any kind, let us unite all our intellectual and spiri
tual forces, those of statesmen, of citizens, of religious leaders, to put an en
d to violence and hatred and to seek out the paths of peace.
Peace is the supreme goal of the activity of the United Nations. It must b
ecome the goal of all men and women of good will. Unhappily still in our days, s
ad realities cast their shadows across the international horizon, causing the su
ffering of destruction, such that they could cause humanity to lose the hope of
being able to master its own future in harmony and in the collaboration of peopl
es.
Despite the suffering that invades my soul, I feel empowered, even obliged
, solemnly to reaffirm before all the world what my Predecessors and I myself ha
ve repeated so often in the name of conscience, in the name of morality, in the
name of humanity and in the name of God:
Peace is not a utopia, nor an inaccessible ideal, nor an unrealizable drea
m.
War is not an inevitable calamity.
Peace is possible.
And because it is possible, peace is our duty: our grave duty, our supreme
responsibility.
Certainly peace is difficult; certainly it demands much good will, wisdom,
and tenacity. But man can and he must make the force of reason prevail over the
reasons of force.
That is why my last word is yet a word of encouragement and of exhortation
. And since peace, entrusted to the responsibility of men and women, remains eve
n then a gift of God, it must also express itself in prayer to Him who holds the
destinies of all peoples in His
hands.
May I thank you for the activity you undertake to make the cause of disarm
ament go forward: disarming the engines of death and disarming spirits. May God
bless your efforts and may this Assembly remain in history a sign of reassurance

and hope.
MEN OF SCIENCE COMMIT ALL YOUR MORAL AUTHORITY TO SAVE MANKIND FROM NUCLEAR DEST
RUCTION
Excerpt from talk given to representatives of UNESCO
June 2, 1980
On June 2, 1980, John Paul II met the representatives of UNESCO and delive
red an address from which the following excerpt was taken.
Mr. President of the General Conference,
Mr. President of the Executive Council,
Mr. Director General,
Ladies and gentlemen,
...We realize it, ladies and gentlemen, the future of man and of the world
is threatened, radically threatened, in spite of the intentions, certainly nobl
e ones, of men of learning, men of science. It is threatened because the marvelo
us results of their researches and their discoveries, especially in the field of
the sciences of nature, have been and continue to be exploited-to the detriment
of the ethical imperative-for purposes that have nothing to do with the require
ments of science, and even for purposes of destruction and death, and that to a
degree never known hitherto, causing really unimaginable damage. Whereas science
is called to be in the service of man's life, it is too often a fact that is su
bjected to purposes that destroy the real dignity of man and of human life. That
is the case when scientific research itself is directed towards these purposes
or when its results are applied to purposes contrary to the good of mankind. Tha
t happens in the field of genetic manipulations and biological experimentations
as well as in that of chemical, bacteriological or nuclear armaments.
Two considerations lead me to submit particularly to your reflection the n
uclear threat which is weighing upon the world today and which, if it is not sta
ved off, could lead to the destruction of the fruits of culture-the products of
civilization elaborated throughout the centuries by successive generations of me
n who believed in the primacy of the spirit and who did not spare either their e
fforts or their fatigue. The first consideration is the following. Geopolitical
reasons, economic problems of world dimension, terrible incomprehension, wounded
national pride, the materialism of our age and the decadence of moral values ha
ve led our world to a situation of instability, to a frail balance which runs th
e risk of being destroyed any moment as a result of errors of judgment, informat
ion or interpretation.
Another consideration is added to this disquieting perspective. Can we be
sure, nowadays, that the upsetting of the balance would not lead to war, and to
a war that would not hesitate to have recourse to nuclear arms? Up to now it has
been said that nuclear arms have constituted a force of dissuasion which has pr
evented a major war from breaking out, and it is probably true. But we may wonde
r at the same time if it will always be so. Nuclear arms, of whatever order of m
agnitude or of whatever type they may be, are being perfected more and more ever
y year, and they are being added to the arsenal of a growing number of countries
. How can we be sure that the use of nuclear arms, even for purposes of national
defense or in limited conflicts, will not lead to an inevitable escalation, lea
ding to a destruction that mankind can never envisage or accept? But it is not y
ou, men of science and culture, that I must ask not to close your eyes to what a
nuclear war can represent for the whole of humanity (cf. Homily for the World D
ay of Peace, January 1, 1980).
Ladies and gentlemen, the world will not be able to continue for long alon
g this way. A conviction, which is at the same time a moral imperative, forces i
tself upon anyone who has become aware of the situation at stake, and who is als
o inspired by the elementary sense of responsibilities that are incumbent on eve

ryone: consciences must be mobilized! The efforts of human consciences must be i


ncreased in proportion to the tension between good and evil to which men at the
end of the twentieth century are subjected. We must convince ourselves of the pr
iority of ethics over technology, of the primacy of the person over things, of t
he superiority of spirit over matter (cf. Redemptor hominis, no. 16). The cause
of man will be served if science forms an alliance with conscience. The man of s
cience will really help humanity if he keeps "the sense of man's transcendence o
ver the world and of God's over man" (Address to the Pontifical Academy of Scien
ces, November 10, 1979, no. 4).
Thus, seizing the opportunity of my presence at the headquarters of UNESCO
today, I, a son of humanity and Bishop of Rome, directly address you, men of sc
ience, you who are gathered here, you the highest authorities in all fields of m
odern science. And through you I address your colleagues and friends of all coun
tries and all continents.
I address you in the name of this terrible threat which weighs over mankin
d, and, at the same time, in the name of the future and the good of humanity all
over the world. I beseech you: let us make every effort to establish and respec
t the primacy of ethics, in all fields of science. Let us do our utmost particul
arly to preserve the human family from the horrible perspective of nuclear war!
I tackled this subject before the General Assembly of the United Nations O
rganization in New York, on October 2 of last year. I am speaking about it today
to you. I appeal to your intelligence and your heart, above passions, ideologie
s and frontiers. I appeal to all those who, through their political or economic
power, would be and are often led to impose on scientists the conditions of thei
r work and its orientation. Above all I appeal to every scientist individually a
nd to the whole international scientific community.
All together you are an enormous power: the power of intelligences and con
sciences! Show yourselves to be more powerful than the most powerful in our mode
rn world! Make up your mind to give proof of the most noble solidarity with mank
ind: the solidarity founded on the dignity of the human person. Construct peace,
beginning with the foundation: respect for all the rights of man, those which a
re connected with his material and economic dimension as well as those which are
connected with the spiritual and interior dimension of his existence in this wo
rld. May wisdom inspire you! May love guide you, that love which will suffocate
the growing threat of hatred and destruction! Men of science, commit all your mo
ral authority to save mankind from nuclear destruction.

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